The Mike Vetter ETV Is A Chevy Cobalt With A Jelly Bean Wrapper

An extremely weird vehicle has surfaced in the UK, a custom car built by a Florida man, and is being auctioned off by a bankrupt museum.

Meet the ETV, or “Extra-Terrestrial Vehicle,” a creation of Mike Vetter, owner of the Florida-based kit car builder The Car Factory. Vetter was notably a Burger King employee who got his start selling Fiero-based kit cars, until the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini threatened to sue. In response, he decided to create his own kit car designs, which made him a millionaire.

The ETV looks like a jelly bean, but according to the VIN, this is actually a Chevrolet Cobalt. Under the hood there’s a 2.2-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine connected to the front wheels via an automatic transmission.

The entire body is (obviously) custom, with a unique shape that looks like no other car on the road. The first ETV rolled out of The Car Factory in 2014 and initially cost $95,000, featuring a fiberglass body, gullwing doors, and a custom-made 4.5′ x 5′ windshield.

First discovered by Silodrome, the vehicle was on display at the London Motor Museum, but since the institution went bankrupt during the pandemic the creation has wound up on the used car market. The ETV was for sale through a Bonham’s auction with a price estimate between £8,000 – £12,000 ($10,400 – $15,600 USD), but was pulled before we could see a final sale.

Apparently, this isn’t a one-off, and a few examples were made based on different donor chassis, including a Chevrolet Aveo, a Toyota Echo, and a Porsche Boxster. Whether or not the styling is to your taste, there’s no doubt that the workmanship is impressive and that the ETV is a truly unique vehicle.